The Wildlife Rescue Centre "Il Pettirosso" in Modena
In the northern Italian town of Modena (near Bologna), an Italian CABS member set up the "Il Pettirosso" ("The Robin") wildlife sanctuary with our financial support. Whether wren or osprey, tortoise or wild boar - injured or vulnerable, all kinds from wildlife from up to 300 km distance are nursed and rehabilitated in Modena.
The emergency line of the Wildlife Centre can be reached 24 hours a day via the regional telephone number 118. A well-equipped wildlife ambulance is on stand by 24 hours a day for the purpose of rescuing injured animals. Over time, the centre has grown to over 70,000 square metres and is now the largest of its kind in Italy.
The Wildlife Centre is also an important partner in the fight against poaching. Each year, the police and game wardens deliver hundreds of seized songbirds from convicted hunters and poachers - almost all of them are rehabilitated and released in Modena. Birds that have been illegally shot - especially birds of prey - are also cared for here.
But "Il Pettirosso" is not only specialised in birds: For example, the traffic police also deliver up to 300 deer and wild boars every year, which are kept in healthy large outdoor enclosures. Greek tortoises - an endangered species in Italy - also suffer from road traffic accidents and are brought to Modena from far away.
Confiscated parrots, iguanas and snakes, injured bats, dormice and squirrels are also taken in. Two ponds are available for water birds, and a wide moat flows through centres grounds, where waterfowl can get used to nature again. Particular attention is paid to hedgehogs - >200 are brought through the winter in Modena every year!
The operators of the station recognise the value of environmental education in working sustainably against poaching and other nature and animal welfare problems. For this reason, staff from the centre have recently earned themselves a permanent place in various Italian nature television programmes, and every year there are dozens of newspaper articles about the rescue centre. The public and school classes are also often invited to release healthy birds - in this way "Il Pettirosso" reaches thousands of people.
The Facebook page for the Moden Wildlife Centre can be found here.